In comments to the NFL Networks Rich Eisen, Commissioner Roger Goodell said discipline against Saints defenders involved in what the league says was a bounty program is coming, "soon," although other sources indicate that is unlikely to come today. The NFL's annual draft begins in New York on Thursday night.

Goodell brushed aside the notion players were essentially following orders from the coaching staff, according to tweets from Eisen about an upcoming podcast he will have with the commissioner. In effect, Goodell echoed the league's original report, which accused between 22 and 27 current or past Saints defenders as being, "willing and enthusiastic participants" in the bounty scheme which, at its core, involved under-the-table cash bonuses for hits that knocked an opponent out for all or part of a game, according to the NFL.

While the evidence of that scheme remains a closely guarded secret thus far, former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, now suspended indefinitely from professional football, acknowledged running a "pay for performance" system that was against the rules. Many players past and present have said bonuses for game changing plays such as interceptions and fumble recoveries have been, if not routine, less than uncommon.

Goodell's comments have been widely interpreted in cyberspace Tuesday as indications the upcoming punishments of Saints players could be severe. Already, the penalties imposed on New Orleans are the stiffest ever handed down by NFL headquarters: a full-season suspension of Coach Sean Payton, 8- and 6-game suspensions of general manager Mickey Loomis and interim head coach Joe Vitt, respectively, along with the loss of a second round pick in this year's draft and an undetermined pick in 2013, plus a $500,000 fine.